But by late autumn, high gas prices had pushed down demand for fossil fuels, while wind and solar energy set production records (for winter) to make up the difference, Myllyvirta says.Emissions fell in the power sector and across the economy: “Total CO2 emissions have been falling since July, pulled by dramatic reductions in fossil gas use in industry and buildings.”European emissions fell to less than 8 metric tons per day, compared to more than 10 Mt/day in 1990.Power sector emissions started increasing again in December, as the sector continues to be plagued by the poor performance of nuclear, and wind conditions were also very unfavorable, but reduced gas use outside the power sector has kept emissions falling overall.”Wind production jumped in Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and especially Germany, while solar production increased in nine countries, led by Poland.The carbon intensity of the world’s energy supply is declining thanks to renewables, the IEA reported, adding that renewables were offsetting coal use that was expected to rise because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting decline in Russian gas exports.“Even though the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has propped up global coal demand in 2022 by making natural gas far more expensive,” IEA said, “the relatively small increase in coal emissions has been considerably outweighed by the expansion of renewables.”CREA’s findings are based on its near-real-time tracking of EU CO2 emissions."